Fashion Over Fifty: July 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

A Dramatic Before and After, along with a History of Curly Hair in America

July 27, 2014

First off, it's a warm summer day and occasionally I let my hair go "au naturel", which for me is a curly mess. People comment how lucky I am to have such curly wild hair. HAH! If you grew up in or around the '60's, which I assume most of you did, you would know that curly hair was a "no-no". Cheryl Tiegs, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, you name her, every female icon had straight, and mostly blonde, hair. I probably wasn't the only one who went to great lengths to straighten their hair during those years but even today, I look around, and my hair is pretty out of control compared to the average population. My mom was adopted, so I don't know where it comes from. Anyway, those with curly hair, and even wavy hair, did everything, including: ironing it, wrapping it, gobbing DEP on it, pinning it down with pin curls, or actually chemically straightening it.

Do you remember when you first started seeing Beauty Supply Stores independent from Pharmacies in the early '80's? Excitedly, I went in to one thinking that there may be something new to reduce the curls or the frizz. Nope, they looked at me like I was crazy. That was not that long ago and Not ONE product for curly or frizzy hair.

It was the African American women who really knew how to really straighten hair, so that's where I went. I went to Alice. What did she use? Sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as LYE. For those that don't know Chemistry; solutions can be acid or base The more acidic, the more it burns. However, the more base it is, the more it also burns. Because lye is so caustic, it left burns on my scalp. How many stupid things did we all do for beauty? Well, this is definitely one of the stupider things that I tolerated for the sake of beauty. The good news, my hair would come out stick straight, and it would last until the next time I straightened it. Usually, every 6 months was good.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I found a great guy who knew exactly what to do. What happened?He ran off with an older woman who funded his Music Career. I begged him to just do my hair every six months, but nope, he had a good thing going. So, then I tried a woman on Melrose Avenue. After putting on the LYE, she put me under the hair dryer, which no one had ever done before. Two days later, most of my hair broke off. It took almost a year to get it to look halfway decent.

Oh the Trial and Tribulations of Curly Hair. I could write a book. If every one shared their stories we could write Volumes. In fact, if you would like to share your story about your curly hair episodes, I will post them either here or on Facebook. Or please comment at the end of the article.

I am not sure what year the tide began to turn, but slowly curly hair became the thing to have!
Even then, I had been so brain-washed by society, that I still wore it straight. At first, the curly hair products were only in salons and beauty supply stores. We curly-haired people knew that Pantene and other drugstore brands were missing the boat. Once a product had a word on it to do with anti-frizz, I bought it. I became an anti-curl/frizz product junky. Sometimes I would mix 3 or 4 together at the same time. If I liked how it looked I was out of luck because I would never be able to duplicate it. To this day, I must have at least 15 anti-frizz/curl products under my sink, that I don't use.

Madonna was a great influence on many of us women in the '80's. Not that women condoned her behavior, or her irreverence, but she empowered women to be more daring. It was around that time that I decided I would be daring and let me hair go curly. I was in Law School at the time. It felt so BOLD of me to be able to just wash and wear it. However, whenever anyone complemented me on how lucky I was to have curly hair, I was almost angry. I wanted to tell them how I had struggled with it for at least 20 years by: planning on when I could go swimming; planning on what to do if I was in a humid climate; sleeping on Campbell soup cans; feeling self-conscious if it rained unexpectedly and I wasn't prepared, and how it basically ruled my life.

What a mess!!

Today, 30 some years later, EVERYBODY who doesn't have curly hair, loves curly hair. The irony is that it is really HOT to wear it curly. It is literally like wearing a fur hat. Wearing a fur hat on a summer's day is no fun. And as all of us Over Fifties know, being HOT is not something we enjoy. So, just when curly hair is in style, I have done everything NOT to be hot. When it's really hot, I end up putting it up, and then one can't see the curls, just the FRIZZ, ugh!

I suppose there are a lot worse things to have struggled with in your life than curly hair;
believe me, I am blessed to be healthy! All of us are, no matter what struggles we might have. But, I guess in this lifetime, my hair will always be the boss. No one is happier to see all of the DRY BARS springing up all over the country. Now I can actually go away and know that I can get my hair done by someone other than my own blow stylist. (In the '70's, hairdressers had no clue how to blow it dry. The all used that Vidal Sassoon rubber brush if you remember).

There is, however, one great advantage to having curly hair as we get older. Men notice me much more when my hair is wild and curly. I must look a lot younger, because it's the only time any male pays attention to me anymore. My theory is that men must think: "Wild hair, Wild woman". Not so, but considering all of the headaches it's caused, it's fun to pretend!!!

Now you get to see the difference for yourself!!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Have you heard of the Spanish line of clothing HOSS INTROPIA ? It's here in the U.S..

If you have been to Spain recently, then among the Zaras, Mangos, and Desinguals, you may have noticed some other Clothing stores you have never heard of. There is Blanco, Stradavarius, and Hoss Intrepido, commonly known as Hoss. Just as Spain has it's own beautiful and unique culture it now is developing its own designers, fashion, and style. Fortunately for their economy, this Spanish brand has now expanded throughout the world.

If you go on to their website, http://www.hossintropia.com/, you will be shocked to find locations on almost every continent, and even in remote cities. It's a wonder that when you look up Chicago in the United States, there is only one small boutique that carries it. That is, up until now. As of this past year, Hoss is now in some Select Bloomingdales.

Recently, I was in Chicago and walking through Bloomie's when the most friendly sales associate came up to me and started talking. (Not an uncommon occurrence in Chicago). Unfortunately, I have misplaced her card or I would give her special mention, because she was so helpful. She started to explain to me about Hoss, and was so excited about all of it's features. It is known for its detailing, including beads and sequins. The prints are also unique but the styles are a bit more traditional. Surprisingly, many of the pieces are sophisticated and not that costly. Definitely not fast fashionoWe can definitely use this line in the U.S.

"Intropia" is a word that the company made up. It is supposed to evoke the fusion of Introspection with Utopia. Unique enough. Another unique feature to this brand is that they specifically choose women as their models. They are not picked solely for their beauty, that's a nice change, but for being the type of woman Hoss respects. Hoss's Mission Statement in choosing their models is as follows:

They are unique women and we choose them every season to represent the essence of our brand. Women with strong personality who stand out in their professions and are willing to fight to achieve their dreams. There is a section where you will find the Intropia of those women who have represented our brand. They have all left us an indelible mark.

The first thing the sales woman and I did was to go over to the evening gowns. The quality was lovely and the styling perfect for those OVER FIFTIES who don't want to show their arms, or have other trouble areas. It is also seems like it might accommodate women who may be more on the Plus side.

This turquoise dress was beautifully beaded and ranged in the high $300.00's. That is not bad for a dress that is 100% beaded. It is a very loose fit, and in the right size and wouldn't require strangulating your bowels with Spanx. It reminds me of 40's elegance.

The soft green gown above with the silver beading is also fine quality and also looked "forgiving" for those trouble spots women OVER FIFTY sometimes have. The beading at the waist and on the shoulders was the finest quality. Even though it is not tailored, it is still sophisticated.

Another customer came so I helped myself to a few more photos.

These pants had an elastic waist, always better for comfort and the print is really unusual. Made of silk, I was tempted to try them on, but Fall is coming up, and I need to save my pennies. The little purse on the mannequin is Fabulous. Made of lamb's leather, with stunning beading on the front, it could be worn with just about anything. What a great statement piece. It was $185.00, but on sale, maybe not too bad.

This is not a great picture of this pretty car coat, but I just got a new camera, so that won't be a problem anymore. Again, it is a somewhat boxy fit, good for OVER FIFTIES, but still stylish. The print is happy. The dress is youthful and sophisticated, sort of like Tory Burch, but much less money!!

Finally, the picture below is not really for OVER FIFTIES, but it's really cute and the style is original. The play of colors makes it feel like something you would take on vacation. Again, it has a happy feel to it!

Here are some of the styles coming up for Fall/Winter taken from their online catalog. If you like what you see, look it up online to see if there is a store near you. You might also take a look the next time you are at a Bloomingdale's to see if they carry it. For Fall the line is much more subdued, but there is a monochromatic feel to it, staying in line with the sophistication that is in the Spring/Summer collection.